


Sun Breaking Through

by figmentera



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Gen, background Padmé/Anakin, in the midst of a war, oblivious Obi-Wan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 04:20:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8875717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/figmentera/pseuds/figmentera
Summary: When they return to Coruscant for a few days, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka get a dinner invitation from an old friend





	

**Author's Note:**

> I doubt this fits into any official chronology. If this is something that bothers you, I apologize. I had in mind sometime fairly early in the Clone Wars, when Ahsoka's apprenticeship is still reasonably new, and just before Obi-Wan is appointed to the Council.

Obi-Wan sighed in relief as the Coruscant landing pad came into view. They’d been away for far too long, and the unexpected break was more than welcome. Maybe he’d have some time to meditate, for once, and to get a new cloak. He’d left the last one somewhere in a swamp, it wasn’t coming back soon. 

In the co-pilot’s seat beside him, Ahsoka stirred slightly and stretched. “Was I sleeping?” she asked. “That journey went quicker than I was expecting.” 

“You were, and good thing, too.” He smiled at her. “Normally I would suggest you make certain to get some meditation in this weekend, but with as little sleep as you’ve been getting, I think a nap would do you just as much good.”

“I could say the same thing to you,” she said, peering out the window at the landing pad. “But you keep meditating instead of sleeping anyway, so I doubt it’d get through. Who’s that waiting on the landing platform?”

Obi-Wan glanced at the figure, and raised an eyebrow. “I believe it’s Senator Amidala. You met her, last time we were on Coruscant, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, Skyguy introduced us, but I didn’t get to talk very long, he had something he wanted to ask her in private.” 

“He often does. Never seems willing to tell me what it is, either,” Obi-Wan said, absently. He’d concluded some time ago that he probably didn’t want to look to carefully into this mystery. 

“I mean, telling you would defeat the purpose of talking to her in private,” Ahsoka said, apparently unbothered by the question. “But I wonder why she came to meet us?”

“We’ll see in one moment, I suppose,” Obi-Wan said. He fell silent for the last descent, putting the ship down carefully, with barely a bump. Ahsoka scrambled out of her seat with far too much energy for someone who’d been sound asleep a minute before, and Obi-Wan followed, more slowly. 

Padmé came towards them, meeting them as they got to the bottom of the ramp. “Welcome back,” she said, smiling. “It’s wonderful to see you two.” 

“You as well,” he said, bowing slightly and taking her hand in greeting. “I trust you’re doing well?”

“Of course. We’re the lucky ones, safe behind the front lines.” She glanced up at the ship again, looking a touch impatient. “Is Anakin still on the ship? Or–“

“Unfortunately, he could not return with us. He had no pressing business on Coruscant, and someone was needed to lead the troops. He will next be back in a month, when we all return again.”

As he spoke, all her bland politeness fell away, and for one moment just looked… heartbroken, he thought. For a moment she was simply a sad, lonely young woman. Then her senator’s mask was back, and she smiled slightly. “How sad. I heard the leaders of the 212th and 501st were returning, and I expected you would all take the opportunity for a break.”

“Not so, I’m afraid. This is no pleasure jaunt. Padawan Tano has a test scheduled for tomorrow, and I was asked by the Council to return for an interview of some sort– I’m still not exactly sure what it's for.”

“Well.” She kept her smile in place, and tilted her head at Ahsoka. “Knight Skywalker promised me a dinner upon his return, and so I have an opening in my schedule. Perhaps you two would like to come over instead?”

Obi-Wan glanced down at Ahsoka, who had perked up at the invitation and was looking up at him eagerly.

“That sounds wonderful, we’d be glad to come.” 

“Excellent. I’ll see you in a few hours.” She gave a final nod and smile, and turned back to the speeder parked on the edge of the landing pad. 

 

Ahsoka talked about Padmé the entire ride to her apartment. Apparently, Anakin had told her quite a lot about Padmé, all of it flattering. Ahsoka seemed to be nursing some hero-worship. 

She’d have to grow out of that eventually, he knew, but he expected it would happen naturally over time. If she spent enough time with Padmé, she’d realize that Padmé was just as fallible as the rest of them. 

So he let her ramble, and let her persuade him to tell his experiences on Naboo, before he’d even met Anakin. 

“So you knew right away that she was really the queen? Skyguy said that was a big surprise to him!”

“Perhaps not immediately,” Obi-Wan conceded. “It was reasonably obvious by the time we landed on Tatooine, however, and at that point it became a question on how long she’d keep up the pretense.” He smiled sadly. “As I recall, I had a bet on it with Qui-Gon. Which I lost.” 

“So she did surprise you! Just not in the way she thought.” 

“She’s quite good at that, yes. I don’t think she knows many people who haven’t been surprised by her at one point or another. And here we are.” 

“She lives way up here? Wow!” 

Obi-Wan smiled slightly, and activated the door alert. They heard the soft chiming inside, and a moment later, Padmé opened the door. 

“Ah, you’re here! Come in, come in. I hope the traffic wasn’t too bad, the Senate was working to regulate it properly, but, well, that fell pretty far down the priority list recently.” 

“Yes, wars tend to be good at shaking up priorities,” Obi-Wan said. 

Padmé laughed, and led them to the table. It was clearly set up for two with a third place added somewhat awkwardly, and there was a spot in the middle which looked like a centerpiece had been removed for some reason. The meal itself looked lovely, Obi-Wan thought, but it was a curious mixture of dishes – the bowl of unsliced Shuura fruit, for example, seemed an odd choice. Presumably she’d been too busy to plan a more traditional menu. 

“This all looks superb,” he said, as they sat down, Obi-Wan in the awkward third setting, Padmé and Ahsoka across from each other. “Thank you so much for inviting us.” Ahsoka nodded vigorously in agreement.

“Oh, it was my pleasure! Besides, it gives me a good chance to get to know Ahsoka here.” She smiled at the teen, who beamed in response. “Anakin tells me you’re doing very well in saber combat.” 

“He told you about me?” 

“Of course! It’s hard to get him to talk about anything else, sometimes.”

Ahsoka laughed. “He does the same thing around me, except he’s always talking about you. Not that I mind! I loved hearing about your bravery during the Battle of Geonosis!”

“Does he really?” Padmé smiled. She looked a touch more pleased by the news than Obi-Wan would’ve expected. Surely she was used to admiration. “But you haven’t told me about your saber work. He said he was going to encourage you to learn more different forms last time I saw him, is that coming along well?”

“Oh! Yeah, he’s been encouraging me to work more with Ataru and Soresu. Those are his and Master Obi-Wan’s specialties, so I have lots of opportunities to watch them in practice. They don’t feel very natural, yet, I don’t think I’d like to use them in an actual fight.”

“Probably wise, young one,” Obi-Wan said. “Using a tool you don’t trust in a time of stress is a recipe for disaster.”

“Yeah, Master Anakin said almost exactly the same thing. Did he get that from you, Master? He must’ve.” 

Obi-Wan smiled slightly at the formality of ‘Master Anakin’. She never gave Anakin that honor to his face, but in front of a respected senator, apparently, he earned it. “I believe I did tell him that at one point, yes.” He looked back to Padmé. “Nevertheless, I’ve been impressed by how quickly she’s picked up the new forms. If she keeps it up, she’ll have quite an impressive arsenal of forms to choose from.”

“I’m glad it’s going so well! Are you looking ahead to the next form, once you feel comfortable with these?”

“Well… I’ve always wanted to learn Jar’Kai. It’s done with two lightsabers, and I’ve always loved the theory I’ve learned, but Master Anakin says I have to get a solid grounding in Ataru first. I see his point, but I just want to get started.”

“I hear the Jedi believe patience is a virtue,” Padmé said. 

“I know,” Ahsoka said, sighing. “It’s just a hard one to stick to.” 

“For more than just the Jedi,” Obi-Wan pointed out. “I seem to remember a young queen who refused to listen to all the advice to be patient, and instead charged recklessly back into a war zone to personally negotiate with an unfriendly race of aliens.”

Padmé laughed. “Master Kenobi will make certain I remain honest. Yet I believe I can keep him honest, as well. You’ve heard the tale of our part in the Battle of Geonosis? Then perhaps you know what Obi-Wan told us as we were being led to our deaths. It was a remarkably impatient remark chastising us for being late.”

“I was not chastising anybody! I simply remarked that until that moment I’d been uncertain whether my message was received!”

“Ah yes. But wouldn’t the truly patient simply wait to see if a result came, without wasting time wondering whether it would?”

“Next time you’re trapped in a force field awaiting execution, I invite you to try to find an occupation other than wondering about rescue. And may you have much luck.”

“I thank you for your well wishes,” she said, raising her glass to him. “I’ll certainly do my best, next time I find myself in such a position.” 

“So, Senator, what have you been doing in the Senate? It’s the one thing my Master can never really tell me about.” 

Padmé rolled her eyes. “Why does that not surprise me? Ani never had much of a mind for politics. Well, the Senate’s been spending a lot of time debating our role in this war, and how to manage the armies and get the funds. Which isn’t the issue we need to be focusing on! We need to be seeking a way to get out of the war, not making it easier to be in it. I’ve been trying to get people to see it this way, but nobody wants to listen.”

“Making peace is always much harder than escalating a fight,” Obi-Wan said. “It’s true all the way from squabbling younglings to galactic warfare. I admire those who strive for peace even so,” he nodded at Padmé, “but many people… They don’t feel like they have that luxury. I can hardly blame them. They’re just scared.”

“Scared people can do so much damage, though.” 

“Another truth.” Obi-Wan glanced over at Ahsoka and smiled. “What do you say we leave off the philosophy for now, for the sake of our young friend, here? Ahsoka, why don’t you tell the senator about the time you rescued the governor’s daughter from the bantha herd?”

Ahsoka perked up. “Oh, that! It wasn’t much, really, I was just in the right place at the right time. The governor’s daughter had gone out to pick flowers, see…”

 

They talked all through dinner, and afterwards, they moved into Padmé’s sitting area and kept right on talking. It was such a wonderful change after the battlefield, Obi-Wan thought. A chair designed for comfort rather than mobility, a splendid cup of tea served in an actual cup, and time to actually talk to old friends. Ahsoka seemed happy too, though the excitement slowly wore off, and halfway through one of Padmé’s stories about Senate proceedings, she drifted off to sleep on Obi-Wan’s shoulder. Padmé noticed as she finished off the story.

“It seems I can’t entertain the younger generation as well as I thought,” she said, nodding at the young girl. 

Obi-Wan laughed, as softly as he could. “Don’t take it personally. She’s been falling asleep every opportunity, lately. Going through a growth spurt, I suspect.”

“She’s such a sweet girl. I’m so glad I got a chance to spend time with her tonight. Anakin’s told me about her, but it’s not the same as actually speaking to her.”

“She was just as happy to spend time with you. I think Anakin told her enough about you to give her a serious case of hero worship.”

Padmé’s hand came to her mouth. “Truly? I had no idea! Oh, I hope I didn’t disappoint her– oh, but I don’t want her to worship me, either.” She looked half horror-stricken, now. “I just want to be her, well, her friend.” 

“You did fine, Padmé. You took an interest, so she’ll definitely remember you fondly, and in time, as you get to know each other better, she’ll learn to see you as a person rather than as a hero.” He smiled. “Maybe I’ll hasten the process by telling her stories of your flaws.”

“Oh? And what flaws are you thinking of sharing, Master Kenobi? Are they very terrible?”

“Indeed they are. For example, I have seen you, on one occasion, wearing a ripped outfit. Your reputation for a flawless fashion sense will never survive.”

Padmé raised an eyebrow. “You mean the Battle of Geonosis, again, don’t you? And how often do you come through your battles spotless? How many scorch marks do you have on your tunic right at this moment?”

“Ah, but nobody cares how I look.”

“Oh, you underestimate yourself, Master Kenobi.” 

“Perhaps. But I’ve seen you on the holonews, and they seem to care quite deeply indeed about your appearance.”

She sighed, the moment of levity over. “Yes. You’re right. Horrible, isn’t it? Couldn’t they ask about my policies, just once, rather than my dressmaker?” 

“That’s politics for you. I don’t know how you do it.” 

She smiled sadly at him. “Well, I don’t know how you stand the pressure of leading an army. We both have our jobs to do, Obi-Wan.”

“You’re right. And if we do it right, our jobs combined will get as many people as possible through this war safely.”

“Yes.” She looked down at Ahsoka again. “Just make sure this one is one of the people we get through, all right? She’s so small, to be out there on the front lines.”

“I know.” He looked down at the girl fondly. “I’ll do everything in my power to protect her. That I promise.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Padmé said, softly, and then they sat silently together. For just one moment, the space around Obi-Wan was filled with peace, tranquility, and people he cared about. He savored it, knowing how few moments like this would be in the days to come. So while he had this one, he would enjoy it.


End file.
